Although self-care and attaining fitness improves physical and mental health and relative self-satisfaction, exageration in this respect can result in mental disorders.
The present study aimed at assessing the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder and anxiety in 150 patients of orthodontic clinics of Birjand University of Medical Sciences between 2014- 2015. In order to evaluate the variables, the modified Yale - Brown obsessive-compulsive and Zank anxiety questionnaires were used. After data collection and feeding it into SPSS (V: 21) software independent T test and X2 statistical tests were applied; and α= 0.05 was taken as the significant level. The obtained results showed that 28% (n = 42) of the subjects were men and 72 % (108) were women. Besides, it was found that there were significant correlations between marital status, on one hand, and depression and anxiety, on the other; and between orthodontic history and anxiety. Moreover, the majority of the subjects in different groups were normal according to Zank Anxiety Scale. Zank scale between anxiety and marital status (P = 0.009) and between anxiety and orthodontic history (P = 0.002) there was also significant. Thus, in those seeking orthodontic treatment, psychological factors cannot be ignored, especially the married ones; and psychological counseling should be taken into account for these cases.